blogTO | Posts by jonathan

blogTO | Posts by jonathan http://www.blogto.com/ Toronto blog Copyright 2010 Fri, 19 Mar 2010 18:58:31 PDT http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss Incredible sights from Bay Street's lofty heights After ascending roughly 50 floors of an unfinished condo on Toronto's Bay Street, we found ourselves facing a spectacular 360-degree view of the city. Far enough away from the downtown core, and yet close enough to see its entire breadth, we were blown away, once again, by the fruits of our rooftopping adventure.

Many Torontonians view the sprawl of vertical living space stretching toward the lake as a blight on the landscape. As a hobby photographer, I tend to take a slightly different stance, viewing the construction of these buildings as massive metal and glass monopods. For me, these buildings don't obfuscate my view so much as they allow for more intriguing perspectives from which to gaze at my city...

]]> http://www.blogto.com/city/2010/03/incredible_sights_from_bay_streets_lofty_heights http://www.blogto.com/city/2010/03/incredible_sights_from_bay_streets_lofty_heights City Fri, 12 Mar 2010 16:27:33 PST City Jonathan Castellino 2010-03-12T16:27:33 Stopping to smell the roses at Concord Floral For nearly a decade, just north of Toronto, a quarter-million square foot greenhouse has sat abandoned. I had heard of this place for some time, but never understood just how massive the complex really was and thus paid it little attention.

The decay in this place is very unique, as it seems to follow the seasons. Where the plants have punctured the glass ceilings, there is growth. Most areas, however, lie either parched or completely dead.

More...

]]> http://www.blogto.com/city/2010/03/stopping_to_smell_the_roses_at_concord_floral http://www.blogto.com/city/2010/03/stopping_to_smell_the_roses_at_concord_floral City Fri, 05 Mar 2010 16:07:16 PST City Jonathan Castellino 2010-03-05T16:07:16 The Last Days of the Downsview Hangars With all of the recent controversy surrounding the demolition of the derelict hangars and control tower at Toronto's former Downsview air base, we thought a final visit to the site was appropriate.

Coming around the south end of the property, we were amazed to see the haste of its demise, with an entire side to the building now missing. The open space inside the two main hangars is astounding. Perhaps it's the way in which such vast emptiness hints at what it once contained that left us in awe of the historic building.

]]> http://www.blogto.com/city/2010/02/the_last_days_of_the_downsview_hangars http://www.blogto.com/city/2010/02/the_last_days_of_the_downsview_hangars City Wed, 24 Feb 2010 16:17:41 PST City Jonathan Castellino 2010-02-24T16:17:41 Above the City at Day's End I don't think I'm alone in looking up at certain buildings in the heart of downtown Toronto while walking by. Do you ever wonder while doing so if there is someone looking back down?

An auspicious opportunity allowed us access to a beautiful rooftop which I had been eying for years.

The stunning view it offered was unique not only because of its breadth of view, or the fact that it had a jutting point overhanging the street itself, but because it allowed a twofold view: on the one side was a particularly "old Toronto" (due to the age of the building, no doubt and the fact that we could look down at decidedly "old-school" architecture). And, at the other, we could look up and across at what has happened since.

]]> http://www.blogto.com/city/2010/02/above_the_city_at_days_end http://www.blogto.com/city/2010/02/above_the_city_at_days_end City Wed, 10 Feb 2010 17:06:04 PST City Jonathan Castellino 2010-02-10T17:06:04 Exploring Railside Industrial Ruins in Vaughan Just north of Toronto on surplus rail land sits the quiet industrial ruins of grain elevators. Very little information is available surrounding this quiet place, which looms ominously over the surrounding low-lying industrial landscape.

Quite early one morning we decided to pay the site a visit, a friend having spotted it some weeks beforehand while passing nearby. The neighbourhood, housing mostly active trades, was vacant this early in the day. The thick gray clouds above us contrasted sharply with the industrial relic we sought, relegated now to the obscure obsession of a curious few.

]]> http://www.blogto.com/city/2010/02/exploring_railside_industrial_ruins_in_vaughan http://www.blogto.com/city/2010/02/exploring_railside_industrial_ruins_in_vaughan City Thu, 04 Feb 2010 12:51:32 PST City Jonathan Castellino 2010-02-04T12:51:32 A Ghost Ship on the Leslie St. Spit Toronto's Portlands are home to many strange and beautiful things. Recently added to the industrial array is the partially deconstructed hull of a massive cargo ship.

There is something terrifying about the prospect of an enormous vehicle torn apart. Forgotten vessels such as this have seen so much of the world, and yet reach such inglorious ends. To find an item like this in Toronto is even more bizarre, and immediately reminded me of the distant shores of Alang, where over half of the world's ships go to die.

]]> http://www.blogto.com/city/2010/01/a_ghost_ship_on_the_leslie_st_spit http://www.blogto.com/city/2010/01/a_ghost_ship_on_the_leslie_st_spit City Thu, 28 Jan 2010 14:37:45 PST City Jonathan Castellino 2010-01-28T14:37:45 The Ruins of St. John's Convent For years, the derelict convent of the Sisters of St. John the Divine sat hidden at the edge of a quiet North York suburb, overlooking the valley.

While active, this group of devout Anglican nuns focused their attention on those dealing with and recovering from addiction (substance abuse, etc.). As their cohort grew, sadly they had to move from their beautiful location -- which itself expanded from an original mansion to an intricate maze of buildings. They are currently much closer to a hospital which has proper rehabilitation facilities. As wonderful as their work is, however, it was what they left behind that intrigued me.

]]> http://www.blogto.com/city/2010/01/the_ruins_of_st_johns_convent http://www.blogto.com/city/2010/01/the_ruins_of_st_johns_convent City Thu, 21 Jan 2010 17:13:07 PST City Jonathan Castellino 2010-01-21T17:13:07 Brilliant Lights from Toronto's Dizzying Heights We decided to take advantage of Toronto's unseasonably warm weather over the past few nights by visiting some of our favorite rooftops. Transformed by the night, the darkened city shone with a seemingly endless blanket of light.

My rooftopping adventures are usually saved for brighter hours, but with winter's shortened days, some late evening elevation seemed my sole option. What I discovered dazzled me; although rooftopping usually refreshes my (sometimes slightly jaded) view of the built environment, getting a unique take on the city was itself elevated by the darkness.

]]> http://www.blogto.com/city/2010/01/brilliant_lights_from_torontos_dizzying_heights http://www.blogto.com/city/2010/01/brilliant_lights_from_torontos_dizzying_heights City Mon, 18 Jan 2010 14:25:56 PST City Jonathan Castellino 2010-01-18T14:25:56 Surveying the Remains of the Bunge Plant From a major industrial complex producing some flavourful (but fatty) foods, to its last skeletal remains, Bunge Canada will always remain in the minds and memories of the many people who worked there, lived in the area, or enjoyed its tasty products. And then, of course, there are people like me, who appreciated the aesthetics of its gradual decay.

I already had the opportunity to explore and photograph the remains of Bunge Canada, documenting its appearance post-abandonment -- from its intricate industrial detritus to its fire-damaged office space. I recently reflected on this neglected space after a sojourn to the area, and was amazed by just how little of it remained.

]]> http://www.blogto.com/city/2010/01/surveying_the_remains_of_the_bunge_plant http://www.blogto.com/city/2010/01/surveying_the_remains_of_the_bunge_plant City Thu, 07 Jan 2010 22:56:03 PST City Jonathan Castellino 2010-01-07T22:56:03 Recalling A Year of Abandonments In preparation for another exciting year of exploration and photography, I thought I'd take a quick look back at some of my (and your!) favourite spots that I've featured over the past year.

Part of the motivation for writing this weekly series on the forgotten spaces in and around the city is to illustrate the importance of the past. I have tried to show these unseen places as hidden gems, which, in their unexpected beauty, reveal their twofold function as a site of cultural memory. Not only are they a living embodiment of socio-cultural recollection, but they also provide a model -- indeed, a blueprint -- for proper redevelopment.

]]> http://www.blogto.com/city/2010/01/recalling_a_year_of_abandonments http://www.blogto.com/city/2010/01/recalling_a_year_of_abandonments City Fri, 01 Jan 2010 16:18:49 PST City Jonathan Castellino 2010-01-01T16:18:49 An Abstract and Angular Toronto The intricate and layered texture of the built environment is always something that has amazed me. Gazing up at my favorite buildings always fills me with wonder, as each step warps my vision of structures which would ordinarily seem so static and immutable.

Walking around downtown Toronto reveals a wide array of gleaming glass, which from a height can often spit back at the viewer a horrendous interpretation of its neighbour across the street, the menacing architecture cast into abstract angles and lines.

We are used to images of buildings as whole structures, or at least that display elements that immediately give away their identity. I thought it would be fun, then, to put together a series of photographs that masks immediate identifiers and thus reveals abstract patterns as opposed to functionality.

]]> http://www.blogto.com/city/2009/12/an_abstract_and_angular_toronto http://www.blogto.com/city/2009/12/an_abstract_and_angular_toronto City Fri, 25 Dec 2009 14:16:18 PST City Jonathan Castellino 2009-12-25T14:16:18 The Withering Remains of 295 George Street Half-way up Toronto's infamous George street lies the decaying Tudor facade of a once beautiful mid-19th century house.

Few would associate this stretch of the neighbourhood with much more than strippers and drug dealers, yet a row of abandoned historical properties sit in its midst, slowly dying. I took a look at the decaying innards of Thomas Meredith House several weeks back, one of three such derelict properties on the street -- and will now examine one of its associates, the neighbouring number 295.

]]> http://www.blogto.com/city/2009/12/the_withering_remains_of_295_george_street http://www.blogto.com/city/2009/12/the_withering_remains_of_295_george_street City Thu, 17 Dec 2009 12:52:21 PST City Jonathan Castellino 2009-12-17T12:52:21 The Charred Remains of the New York Pork Slaughterhouse At the far edge of Toronto's Junction rests the charred carcass of New York Pork. An unassuming boarded facade masks the remains of a terrifying abandoned slaughterhouse, left to rot.

Since the fire of 2006, I had heard various rumors of its unsettling innards (a basement so contaminated a friend had to have chest x-rays done after a visitation, machinery so cruel as to make even the most carnivorous individual cringe), that I simply had to go check it out for myself.

]]> http://www.blogto.com/city/2009/12/the_charred_remains_of_the_new_york_pork_slaughterhouse http://www.blogto.com/city/2009/12/the_charred_remains_of_the_new_york_pork_slaughterhouse City Thu, 10 Dec 2009 18:36:25 PST City Jonathan Castellino 2009-12-10T18:36:25 An Uncertain Future for the Ontario Power Company Plant The ominous beauty of disused industrial space is very powerful. Earlier this week, I took a look at the mothballed Rankine power station in Niagara, and today we slide to the base of the Falls where the now 10-year-decommissioned Ontario Power Company hydroelectric plant lies.

Opened in 1905 at the foot of the Horseshoe falls, this massive complex once seemed a symbol of steadfast power and industry. During those decades, conduits almost 2000 meters long fed water from the falls to the 15 massive generators at the facility. Sadly, the generators are no more, the turbine hall now a sealed-off tomb to a once mighty giant.

]]> http://www.blogto.com/city/2009/12/an_uncertain_future_for_the_ontario_power_company_plant http://www.blogto.com/city/2009/12/an_uncertain_future_for_the_ontario_power_company_plant City Thu, 03 Dec 2009 09:59:37 PST City Jonathan Castellino 2009-12-03T09:59:37 Exploring New Beginnings at Rankine Hydroelectric Station The Canadian Niagara Power Company recently decommissioned the William Birch Rankine hydroelectric station. I was invited along with a school of restoration artists earlier this month to pay a visit.

Our Niagara Parks Commission leader jokingly referred to the impressive edifice as 'the building no one ever sees,' as it rests just behind the roadway overlooking the curve of the Niagara Falls themselves - the natural destination of all passing eyes.

The sheer size and grandeur of the place, coupled with the raw sense of industry (and even this, charmingly detailed) creates a profound impression of space.

]]> http://www.blogto.com/city/2009/11/exploring_new_beginnings_at_rankine_hydroelectric_station http://www.blogto.com/city/2009/11/exploring_new_beginnings_at_rankine_hydroelectric_station City Mon, 30 Nov 2009 10:31:51 PST City Jonathan Castellino 2009-11-30T10:31:51